


take care of me (and i’ll take care of you)

by orphan_account, themetgayla



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Age Play Caregiver Emma Swan, Age Play Caregiver Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Age Play Little Emma Swan, Age Play Little Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Age Regression/De-Aging, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Non-Sexual Age Play, emma hates her oops, mxlg, snow is mean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-04 12:33:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15841389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account, https://archiveofourown.org/users/themetgayla/pseuds/themetgayla
Summary: age regression oneshots set in the same universe, depicting emma and regina as switches (both littles and caregivers).(don’t like, don’t read.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> swanqueenmorrilla + i wanted to write these oneshots and decided to post them to the same fic as a collab kinda thing. we may write more for this in the future, but at the moment it’s just two chapters. enjoy!
> 
> snow finds gina in little space, and makes fun of her, resulting in emma throwing her mother out and comforting her baby girl. (shows little!gina and caregiver!emma.)

“Emma?” Snow sticks her key in the door of the mansion and pushes the heavy door open, peering around the corner as she steps into the cleanly decorated hall. The bright yellow bug is in the driveway, and she really needs to ask her daughter whether she can babysit Neal tonight — her and David are going on a much needed date, that may or may not end in sex — and she hasn’t been replying to her messages all day.

It’s kind of urgent, because it’s already four o’clock, and they’re meant to be going out at seven, which is only _three hours away_ and— Is that _My Little Pony_ she can hear? Snow frowns and pushes the door shut behind her as she walks quietly into the house, taking care to be quiet so as not to disrupt whatever’s going on. (Becoming familiar with the _My Little Pony_ theme tune is not something Snow ever expected to happen, but Neal had taken a certain interest in it a few weeks ago and it’s all that’s been playing on the television recently.)

Emma doesn’t seem to be here, despite her car being parked outside —  _if my car is there, it usually means I’m home, Snow_  — and _Wednesday is my day off._ If she strains, Snow can just hear the excited squeals of Pinkie Pie floating down the stairs, which is frankly a cause for concern. What if someone’s broken in?

(Logically, the small brunette knows that no one would break into the Mayor’s mansion, especially not to watch _My Little Pony._ It’s a children's show, after all.)

Swallowing thickly, Snow proceeds up the stairs, supporting her weight on the banister so they don’t creak when she steps on them. The chirpy noises slowly grow louder as she pads down the hall and towards the room at the end — Regina and Emma’s room. _What the fuck?_ Snow usually isn’t one for swearing, but it feels somewhat appropriate in this situation.

When she reaches the end of the hall, confident the sound is coming from inside the room, she takes a deep breath and pushes the door open. To say that seeing Regina sat on the bed, cuddling a stuffed pink animal with a pacifier in her mouth is shocking, is a _complete_ understatement. Snow doesn’t think she’s ever been so shocked, not even when Emma had nervously blurted out that her and Regina had been dating for the past six months.

“Regina?” Snow had been planning to just stay silent and try and _process_ a bit, but she’s so shocked and _beyond_ freaked out that she has to find out what’s going on immediately.

The older brunette twists around, her jaw dropping as she sees her girlfriend’s mother standing in the doorway, her arms folded almost protectively across her chest. A small, pained cry escapes her mouth, and Regina immediately tries to hide behind the pink Carebear clutched tightly in her hands. “Snow?” She asks softly, dread seeping into her tone as she reaches behind her and fumbles to pause _My Little Pony._

Snow steps cautiously into the room, her arms still wrapped around her waist, her eyes dark and full of fear. “What—” she pauses to swallow, to try and wrap her head around what the _hell_ is happening, “What are you doing?” The disgust and confusion in her expression reminds Regina too much of her reign in the Enchanted Forest, of the hate and abuse hurled at her daily by her mother, of the pure terror in people’s eyes as she approached.

It’s haunting.

“Wan mama,” Regina cries, tears welling up in the corners of her wide, glistening eyes, the fear causing her to regress further into her mind, until she’s barely verbal. As Snow walks forwards, the small brunette curled up on the bed lets out a terrified wail, thick tears rolling down her flushed cheeks. She drags her knees up to her chest and buries her face in them, tears soaking the skin immediately as her body shakes from the force of her sobs.

“What the hell are you doing? Stop— Stop crying, for god’s sake, you’re not a _child._ You’re a fully grown woman, so act like it,” Snow demands, her eyes hardening as her mouth sets into a thin line. Regina’s never seen the usually bubbly brunette like this, so cold and _harsh,_ and while in little space, it’s the scariest thing she’s ever seen.

Regina slams her hands over her eyes and doesn’t dare to peek up at Snow, who seems to have decided that getting angry is her best option right now. (It’s _really not_.) “Mama.” The crying brunette just repeats her cry for Emma over and over, until the words blend together and she becomes a babbling, incoherent mess of limbs, her face wet with the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Before Snow can open her mouth to say anything else, Emma bursts through the door, her expression stony, anger swirling in her bright jade eyes. The blonde glares fiercely at her mother, who’s standing silently, trying — and failing — to feign innocence. “Snow, what the _hell_ are you doing? What have you done to her?” She jabs her finger forcefully in the direction of her beautiful baby girl sobbing on the bed, her arms wrapped desperately around her stuffie.

Upon hearing her Mommy’s mean tone, Regina curls further into herself -- she’s never heard Mommy sound mean before, and she knows immediately that she doesn’t like it at all. Emma senses the tension straight away, and reacts by grabbing hold of Snow’s wrist and dragging her out of the room, ignoring the quiet cry of protest the comes from the pixie-haired brunette.

Once in the hall, Emma rips her hand away from Snow and distances herself, hatred dancing in her eyes. “I’ll deal with you later. Now get out of my house,” she spits, giving the older woman a slightly harsh shove in the right direction, thoughts of her baby girl crying spinning frantically around her mind. She can still hear her crying, and she has to to comfort her, _now._

Snow stumbles away down the hall without daring to speak, knowing when not to push her daughter’s boundaries. (She guesses her and David aren’t going to be going on that date after all.) Once Emma knows her mother is safely down the stairs, she turns and bolts into her bedroom, her heart breaking as she’s met with the sight of Gina lying with her head on the pillow, dark hair splayed across the cotton, her thumb stuck in her mouth as tears roll silently down her cheeks.

Emma approaches slowly, not wanting to frighten the small girl before her — when Gina’s crying, she always has to make sure her movements are careful and her voice is soft, otherwise it brings up too many haunting memories of her mother scolding her for doing so much as eating too quickly.

“Hey baby, it’s Mommy,” Emma coos, sinking down on the edge of the bed, trying to resist the urge to just reach out and scoop her baby into her arms and soothe her tears away. Gina lifts her head to look at her, hair stuck to her damp cheeks, her chocolate orbs still glistening. The small brunette shuffles into Emma’s lap, immediately pressing her face into the blonde’s soft neck and snaking her arms around her neck. “Hush now baby girl, I’ve got you. You’re safe.” She strokes Gina’s back soothingly and presses gentle kisses to the girl’s temple, knowing it calms the girl immensely.

After a few minutes, Gina pulls away from her Mommy and sits back on the bed, a small smile flickering onto her face as she peeks up at the blonde through thick, still sticky lashes. “Juice an gol’fish?”

Emma grins at the words, knowing it’s Gina’s way of telling her she’s okay. She scoops the brunette into her arms and shifts her onto her hip as she stands from the bed, bopping her on the nose, eliciting a small giggle from pink lips. “Of course baby, let’s go and see what we can find.” Gina squeals happily as they leave the room, clutching her stuffie to her chest as she wraps her legs around her Mommy’s waist, her stomach grumbling hungrily.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi! This is going to be my addition to our two-shot fanfiction! Since I’ve never written little Emma before, this was a challenge for me. But, as a writer I love to put myself out of my comfort zone. So, here you go! I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
> 

"Oh, yeah. I'm a first time parent so, I don't really know what to expect."

The second Emma hears those words, her heart shatters. She couldn't believe this. She thought that she had a forever family and now, Mary Margaret was basically discounting the fact that Emma was her daughter. Now, that hurt more than anything because Emma had been tossed from foster home to foster home and she was so used to people pretending like she didn't exist and that she wasn't their daughter. But, she never would've expected this to come from Mary Margaret. 

Regina frowned instantly. She couldn't believe that Mary Margaret had just said that. 'That idiot!' She thought to herself before she spoke up and said, "this isn't your first time, Snow. You have Emma."

Mary Margaret looked over at Emma, who looked like she was about to start sobbing, and instantly frowned. "I.. I'm sorry, Emma. I just meant that it's my first time raising a baby." She tried to back track but, it was too late. The damage was already done. 

These were the moments where Emma regretted ever letting Mary Margaret in. This was the moment she wished that she'd never put down her emotional walls. She wished that she had just kept her walls up and blocked everyone out, just like she did in the past to cope. Emma's time in the foster system was horrible and, it taught her to never trust anyone. But, she trusted Snow. Well, at least she used to. 

She trusted Snow to never hurt her this much and to never say these things. To never make her feel unwanted like this. 

Emma bit her lip as she felt her little self trying to come out. She wasn't surprised in the slightest. Regressing was a way for her to cope with the bad things in the "adult world". So, she just stood up and left the room so that she could regress. She didn't care that she could hear Mary Margaret's pleads for her to stay. 

She needed to be little and she needed her mommy. She needed Regina. 

Emma went into the bathroom and choked out a quiet sob as she closed the door and slid down the wall, sitting down and pulling her knees up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs, curling into herself as she sobbed into her knees. 

Regina got up and immediately jogged over to the bathroom. She lightly knocked on the door and asked, "darling.. can I please come in?" She couldn't tell that Emma was in little space yet. All she knew was that the blonde was terribly upset. 

Emma sniffed and said, "c-come in." In a tearful voice, tears streaming down her rosy cheeks as her mommy walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. 

Regina quickly walked over to Emma and sat down next to her. She could now tell that Emma was very much regressed. Her poor little girl was sobbing as her body trembled slightly. 

"Mommy's here, my love. Come to mommy." Regina said in a soothing voice as she opened her arms up for the blonde to come and sit on her lap. 

She knew better than to force the blonde into physical contact when she was upset. She knew that Emma needed to do it on her own time. So that she didn't get panicked and feel trapped. Regina knew that Emma absolutely hated to feel trapped. She hated being trapped. So, Regina did her best to never make Emma feel that way. 

Emma quickly got into Regina's lap and wrapped her arms around her shoulders, burying her face in the crook of her mommy's neck as she cried. 

"I-I.. I c-can't bewieve s-she s-said that, m-mama." Emma whispered, saying that she didn't believe that Mary Margaret had said those awful words. Even though they weren't purposeful and she didn't mean to hurt Emma, it still hurt the blonde deeply. 

Regina wrapped her arms around her baby and held her closely as she gently rocked her back and forth, her hands gently running up and down the trembling blonde's back to help soothe her, which definitely worked. 

Emma loved Regina for many reasons. But, one of the main reasons why she loved her was because she knew her so well. Regina could always tell when she was upset and she always knew exactly what to do to make Emma feel better. She knew exactly how to comfort her and she also knew when she needed to give Emma her space. 

Regina knew when Emma needed to be held and when the blonde needed to be left alone. And, it didn't take her just one day to figure all of this out. It was a lot of trial and error. But, it definitely was worth it because now, she knew Emma very well. She knew what her triggers were, she knew when the blonde was trying to hide her emotions unsuccessfully. She just knew. And Emma loved her for that. 

Regina sighed and replied, "I.. I can't either, little one. I honestly can't. But.. she was wrong. It wasn't her first time being a parent because she is your mother and she always will be." Her voice got quieter and quieter as she continued talking. 

Emma wasn't convinced. She just couldn't stop thinking about all of the times she was kicked out of foster homes for not being good enough and she just sobbed harder. 

Regina frowned instantly. "Baby.. baby shh." She whispered and gently cupped Emma's cheeks, wiping away her tears as she looked into her glistening green eyes. "Mommy's here baby. You're such a good girl. You're the best girl." She whispered sincerely. 

Emma needed to hear that. Regina made sure to praise Emma multiple times a day whether she was big or small. Even if it was just for small things like big Emma making a delicious meal for dinner, Regina would always say, 'you did amazing, my love'. Which would make the brightest smile appear on the blonde woman's face. She knew that Emma needed that. She knew from personal experience that being called 'bad' so many times made someone eventually start to believe it. And, she wanted to make Emma always feel like she was good. 

Emma sniffled and rubbed her eyes with her closed fists. "B-but snow no wan me. N-no one wans me." She mumbled softly and pouted slightly. 

Regina gently kissed Emma's rosy cheek and whispered into her ear. "I want you, my angel. I want you with all of my heart. You are so wanted Emma. So very wanted and loved. Not just by me but, by Henry, David, and Snow. And all of your friends especially Ruby. You did nothing wrong. This is just your mother being an idiot like she always is. Please don't think that this is your fault because, it most certainly isn't. It's Snow's fault."

Emma listened to everything Regina was saying and she very much appreciated that Regina was talking in a soft, calming voice instead of in a louder, normal voice. It helped Emma calm down more when Regina talked like this and the brunette knew this. She could feel Regina's warm breath on her ear as she gently nuzzled her nose against the brunette's neck. 

"F-fank you, mama." Emma whispered softly, going to put her thumb into her mouth when Regina very gently grabbed her hand. "No, baby. Mama has a paci in her purse just for you."

Emma smiled as Regina pulled out her favourite yellow pacifier out of her purse and gently slipped it into Emma's mouth. She could tell that the blonde was slipping into a younger headspace. 

"My perfect angel." Regina whispered and gently threaded her fingers through the blonde woman's golden blonde hair. Emma's hair framed her face and made her look like an angel. Plus, her big green eyes sparkled and it made Regina's heart flutter in her chest. 

Emma smiled softly and whispered against her paci, "mama's." As she closed her eyes. She was very exhausted from having her emotional meltdown and she felt so incredibly safe and protected in her mommy's arms. This was her favourite place to be. 

She loved being in Regina's arms. It made her feel like nothing would ever hurt her and like she was safe from all of the horrible things in the world. 

"I love you, babygirl." Regina whispered and gently kissed Emma's forehead and Emma smiled softly, obviously feeling so much better now and happier because of Regina's reassurance and love. 

"I wuv you mowe." Emma murmured softly from around her paci and Regina shook her head, "not possible, baby." She replied and gently tapped Emma's nose with her index finger, making the blonde squeal adorable and hide her face in Regina's neck once more. 

Regina chuckled softly. "Don't hide from me, my darling." She said and started to gently tickle Emma's tummy. 

Emma giggled uncontrollably and gently bathed away Regina's hands. "Mama!" She giggled some more as Regina finally stopped. 

Regina was so happy to see that Emma was happier and that she was feeling better now. "How are you feeling, baby?" She had to ask. Because even though Emma looked fine, Regina would rather be safe than sorry. 

Emma grinned, "vewy good mama. I happy wif you." She whispered and Regina couldn't help but smile. 

"I'm so glad, baby. Thank you for letting me in here. I'm so very proud of you. You're such an amazing little girl." Regina praised softly. 

Emma's smile lit up the room.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you all enjoyed the first chapter!  
> \- themetgayla


End file.
